Fairy Tail: The Ancients' Call
by badliar 2312
Summary: Several years ago, a child went missing, his name was Natsu Dragneel. His friends had tried to find him, but to no avail... And after a couple of years... the search was called off, and he was believed to be dead... A couple of years later, Lucy Heartfilia encountered a mysterious man clad in black, while wearing a ragged white scarf that covers his neck...
1. Prologue

Hello and thank you for clicking the link leading to this particular fic. This is the Fairy Tail story that I've been thinking about for the last couple of months, hope it's to your liking.

**Disclaimer: **Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail. As for me, I'm somewhat content on fiddling around in the universe that he had created.

* * *

**Prologue: The Mysterious Disappearance of Natsu Dragneel.  
**

* * *

In the massive and beautiful city of Magnolia lies a guild. The guild is famous for its powerful members, along with its master, someone who is strong enough to be considered qualified as one of the 10 Wizard Saints, a group of powerful, skillful mages from all across Fiore, chosen by the Magic Council through some very intricate methods.

But, it's also famous for how it deals with the missions that are given to their members, usually, destruction and disorderly follows wherever their members go to fulfill their mission. From the youngest to the oldest, none of them are exempt from their capability and willingness to destroy everything in their path... though thankfully, they never killed someone because of it.

And one of their remarkable trait is how their Guildhouse is usually bridled with joy, the sound of people singing and yelling, and usually, the sounds of clattering that were made by the constant friendly fighting. Every person in Magnolia and Fiore knows that Fairy Tail is a guild where seriousness is usually cast away for the sake of the happiness of the members.

But today... there's only silence in the Guildhouse...

All of the members were there, the light is still on, mostly because it was nighttime... but the usual fighting, the sounds of drunken members singing their heart out, and the sounds of hearty laughter, all of them... are absent.

A crimson-haired little girl wearing a rather conservative clothes while equipped with a small armor that covers her torso looks upon her surroundings, and in her eyes, she saw that everyone is feeling the same feeling.

Sadness. Grief. Trepidation. Guilt.

On her side is her white-haired rival, a little girl with tomboyish, and somewhat revealing clothes that usually picks a fight with her.

But today, that is not something she could do, for she is also subdued out of worry for her friend, along with her younger sister, whose energetic personality is nowhere to be seen at the current moment and is currently being comforted by her older brother.

The crimson haired girl placed her hand on her rival's shoulder, in response, the white-haired girl turned to her with a surprised expression.

It then turned to confusion, before her expression is one of understanding. She sighed before she asked: "...What is it Scarlet?"

Her weak tone shows how much this event has affected her, she usually acts tough and talks rather rudely, especially to her, but this time, she could not hide her true feelings.

"...I'm going to see Master again, do you want to come Mira?" Scarlet asked.

Mira scoffed, however, she doesn't give an answer, nor does she show a gesture that indicates either agreement or rejection.

Scarlet sighed again, her rival can be stubborn most of the times, but this is one of the times where she just doesn't have the strength to call her on it.

So without waiting for her answer, she wordlessly turned from her and walked towards the Master's room.

"W-wait."

Mira's gentle call made Scarlet turned to her rival, who blushed in a small embarrassment before she silently walks up to her. "...i'll come with you..." she said with such a small volume that it's almost impossible to hear.

Scarlet smiled at her friend, she then grabbed Mira's hand and squeezed it once, hoping to bring a smile to her face again...

But it was for naught, as her expression is still the same melancholic one that nearly everyone in the guild has...

...

When they arrived at the door leading to Master's room, Scarlet knocked it to let him know that they want to come in.

_"Who is it?" _A voice from within the room asked.

"It's Erza, Master Makarov, I'm also with Mirajane."

_"Oh... well come in, come in."_

They entered the room, and saw the master of the guild, Makarov Dreyar, an elderly man with an extremely small stature who is wearing a white t-shirt and black slacks and sitting in his chair.

Erza noticed that Makarov was reading something, a letter, by the looks of it, which he quickly tried to hide, but he was not fast enough to make it unnoticed by Erza.

"Well, what do you need, girls?" he asked with a grandfatherly tone.

Seeing their expression, Makarov instantly understands what they want to talk about, he sighed despondently, and said: "Erza, Mira... we have our guild members along with some people from other guilds that I asked from my connections to search for him. You must be patient."

But before Makarov could continue, one of the girls shouted, "But it's been a month already!" this time, it surprised Makarov, as the one who yelled was Mira, Erza seems pretty surprised as well, "Why isn't he found yet? What if-" She bit her lower lip as she starts to choke, "...What if something happened to him? He's... that idiot's still weak... what if-"

"Mira." Erza said as she gripped her rival's shoulder, "Nothing bad is going to happen to him." she tried to assure her.

In response, Mira glared at Erza and pushed her hand away "How do you know that?" she asked her, "You're here and you're not with him, how could you know that he's fine? Huh?"

Erza backed down a bit due to Mira's gaze as she stuttered out, "A...I..."

"You don't! So how could you say that when you don't know how he's doing now?" she demanded an answer from Erza again.

Erza went silent, "Well?" Mira asked again, prompting the red-haired girl to cast her head down as she fought the oncoming tears.

Then, a pair of hands tapped their shoulders, Makarov's. He had came down from his chair to comfort the saddened girls, "We may not know _where _he is now... but we must believe that he is alright... We must have faith in his survival, that is the least we can do."

"...There should be more that we can do, master..." Mira said after a moment of silence, "He's been gone for a month, but we only realized it a couple of days ago... there must be something that we could do... I... I mean..." she was cut off by the tears that starts to come out of her eyes, "We... we didn't even notice his absence until that long... what... kind of friends are we?"

Seeing that Erza's tears is also starting to flow out of her right eye, Makarov hugged them both and let them cry.

Makarov sighed, "...It's not your fault, all of us were too deep in our parties with Gildarts who was back in town for quite a long time... but we will find him. Safe and sound." the old master smiled, "Believe it."

The girls nodded, somewhat calmed down by Makarov's smile, but the tears still persists.

"Now go downstairs, I'll prepare some milkshake for you."

Erza and Mira nodded with the same morose expression that they have when they came to him, but nevertheless, they followed his order and went downstairs.

Makarov sighed for the umpteenth time, he turned his attention to the letter that he hid in his pocket, he then took it out and as he gazed upon the envelope that contained the accursed letter, his expression turned grim...

'(sigh)... Natsu, my boy... how could such a fate fell to a such a young child like you...?'

...

* * *

...

_At the same time..._

Within a dark cave beneath an active volcano, an ancient being resides within, a being much older and powerful than even the strongest of mages.

It was supposed to be sleeping, but instead, it is now restless, and in turn, its whole body is wreathed in flames that it conjured. Its glowing yellow eyes shined menacingly as it narrowed its eyes in an expression akin to anger.

"Natsu..." it growled out, "Damn them... damn them all..." it muttered in a tone that shows how regretful it is.

It gritted its fangs before it stood on its hind legs and roared to the sky above in anger and spreads its wings proudly, as if challenging the sky itself.

After a few moments, the roar dissipates and it returned its form of standing on four feet.

Suddenly...

"There is nothing to worry about, Igneel the Fire Dragon." spoke a voice from within the cave.

Igneel turned towards the voice, and saw the form of the one who spoke... the form of a being who is much older than himself, and much more powerful as well, even to him.

"I know that you saw what happened to him through your bond, Igneel..." spoke the Old Being with a voice that would send a dreary chill to a normal man's spine.

When Igneel heard what the Old Being said, the sounds of the little child screaming his name, begging for him to come to his rescue instantly filled Igneel's mind, reminding him of what he had let on.

"But he is now safe, and in my care... he will live." the Old Being finished.

The dragon scoffed before he said; "Who told you to do so? Your Master?"

The Old Being seems to chuckle at this and say: "As a matter of fact, yes..." he answered, "He has ordered me to take care of him for the time being, until he is capable to fend for himself... something that _you've_ failed to ensure."

Igneel gritted his teeth, but he did not retort, for he knows that he had left Natsu when he was just a little boy, he _had_ trained him in the Art of Fire Dragon Slayer, but even then, that did not change the fact that he was just a little child who knew so little about the world he live in.

"But nevertheless, I am here as but a messenger, He wanted to make you certain that the boy is well." the Old Being finished before he turned his back and began to leave.

"Do not consider me comforted," Igneel answered, stopping the Old Being on his tracks, "Especially considering the one He ordered to take care of him is _you._"

The Old Being didn't even bother to turn his back, and after a few moments of silence, he continues his path to leave the volcano.

...

* * *

...

_Several years afterwards..._

And now, many years has passed, and with it, let our attentions be turned, towards the the city of Hargeon, it is not an exquisitely remarkable city, but it is a rather quaint and peaceful city nonetheless.

There is no recognizable guild that housed themselves in the city, but it is known as one of the city which is important to Fiore, as it is well-known merchant city. Nearly everything that people can buy, or sell, is available here.

And on this city, there is a blonde young woman of seventeen years old, she is not a local, but a visitor who, by chance, visited this place on a whim, never knowing what her future might bring due to this action.

But, before we delve too deep into her exploits, there is someone else in the city whom her fate, among many others in the world, is tied to his...

...

In the train station of Hargeon, a conductor is taking care of the passengers from other parts of the country off the train and into the city.

The conductor never had an exceptional day before, in fact, his life is rather ordinary, rendering him rather jaded...

After the train drove away, he sighed rather wistfully as he crossed the train tracks and let his mind wander, "Just another day at work... sometimes... I wish I'd been an adventurer, but then again, it's rather late for that now, isn't it?" he muttered under his breath, 'Must be nice if I can meet an interesting person... someone who can bring my passion again...'

As if on cue... he heard a whistling sound coming from above...

He looked up, but due to the sun's position, he could only see the object's silhouette.

But then, a voice spoke...

"Get away from there!"

And it comes from the falling object, which, he correctly deduced after hearing it's voice, is not a mere object, but a human male...

Who, inexplicably, just fell from the sky...

But he moved out of the way before he landed as he ordered.

Then, just before he got into the ground... the man summoned forth a flame, a purple-colored flame, onto his palm and his soles, and the way he makes the fire bursts continuously like a rocket enables him to hover in the air and preventing him to get the full brunt force of the impact from the landing.

After a couple of seconds of hovering, the man turned the flames off and landed without any problem.

The man is tall, and he wears an unbuttoned, black-colored longcoat with only a simple lapel that is colored in black as well, beneath it, he wears nothing, therefore showing his rather muscled chest and abdomens, he also wears a black pants, and because of the difference in material of the clothing, the pants' black color is not as dark as his coat's.

On his neck, he wears a white scarf, which looks rather ordinary for some people, but to some, it is something special, an item of great value that is cleverly disguised as something mundane and ragged.

But yet, his most distinguishable trait is his hair, it's rather long, reaching to the back of his neck in fact, rather spiky as well. And it's color... is unique, not to mention, exquisite...

Dark pink, with a shade of purple...

He looked towards the conductor, showing his equally brilliant purple eyes, then he said; "Thanks for moving away there, I've had a couple of incidents that involved with many people got hurt, glad your not the newest addition to that little list." he said with a small, sheepish grin.

"Anyway," he began after a little chuckle, "What's this city's name?"

"H-Hargeon." The conductor said.

"Hargeon eh? Very well then..." he said as he rubbed his palms, as if anticipating something exciting, "I shall be going now."

As the flame-wielder walked away, the conductor managed to ask one thing: "Wait a minute! Are you a mage of some kind?"

The young man didn't bother to fully turn his body around, he merely replied with: "You can say that!" and walks away afterwards.

...But on his mind, he thought: 'Well... the closest title that can describe some of things that I can do anyway...' with a sarcastic tone in his inner voice.

...

* * *

...

"Eeeh? there's only one magic store in this city? But it's so big!" exclaimed a certain blonde woman in the only shop that sells everything related to magic within Hargeon.

"W-well... this city's main source of income is from the fish that we take from the coast. Mages are not a prominent job in here, after all. We don't even have a guild." replied the elderly man who owned the store. "This shop's main targets are traveling mages, not the expert ones."

She sighed despondently, "Great... I think my time's wasted here..."

"Ah, please...! Take a look around, I'm sure I have something that you need here!"

"Hm..." the girl mused, "Do you have any Celestial Keys? The strong ones?" she asked.

"Celestial Keys eh? That's quite uncommon..."

"Hm...Ah!" she exclaimed out of surprise when she saw a silver key with the symbol of Canis Minor on it, "Nikora! I've been looking for this one for a while!" she said before she turned to the store owner, "How much is this?"

"Twenty-thousand Jewels."

"...I wonder how much it is..." she asked again

"Twenty-thousand Jewels." he repeated again.

"I wonder..." she smiled rather sultrily as she asked with a more... seductive tone... "...How much it _really _is..."

...

* * *

...

_Not even ten minutes afterwards..._

"Tch!" the blonde young woman clicked her tongue, 'He only gave a thousand Jewel discount...'

Then she kicked a public chair besides her out of indignation, 'Really! Is my sex appeal only worth a thousand Jewels?' she thought.

She stopped when she bumped into someone on her way due to her only looking down out of anger.

"Sorry! I didn't see you... there..." she was unable to speak when she got a good look of whom she crashed into.

She had seen a fair share of handsome men, mostly out of the weekly magazine that photographed a _lot _of good-looking male mages around Fiore, but this man here... he could easily beat all of them in terms of facial and physical attractiveness.

Exotic pink hair with a shade of dark purple, a pair of beautiful eyes colored with the same color that royalty usually wears on their person, an extremely well-toned and statuesque body... 'He could easily defeat Loke from Fairy Tail...'

"Are you alright miss?" she heard him ask so suddenly.

"...W-wha?" she muttered near incomprehensibly.

"I said are you alright? I didn't bump your head too hard now am I? You kinda spaced out there for a second... and you may wanna... wipe your lips there." he said as he gestured his hand to mimic a wiping motion to his lips.

"Wha... O-oh..." she mouthed out in embarrassment after she found out she had been _drooling _of all things, "T-thank you, I-I mean... sorry, you know, for earlier... I didn't see where I was walking..."

In response, the purple-haired man said: "I also didn't see where I was going as well, so I'm sorry too."

She smiled a little at the man's well-mannered personality.

But then, a commotion was heard, a large group of females were convening at an area nearby while shouting 'Samaritan-sama! Samaritan-sama!' in a tone that shows they're idolizing this person.

"Samaritan...?" she wondered out loud before she gasped, "Isn't that the kind but mysterious free-lancing mage that always disappears after he finished his job? And he's here? I have to see him!" she exclaimed before she ran towards the mysterious mage's location.

The purple-haired man narrowed his eyes as he looked towards the location where all the women are flocking to, then he decided to see this... Samaritan.

When Lucy managed to get the massive crowd away for her to see the Samaritan, she saw a man with dark blue hair who wears a black cape with a lighter-toned shirt beneath it, and he seems to enjoy the company of women around him. He even flirt with some of them.

But what bugs Lucy is not his casanova-like attitude, but the way her heart beats when she sees him.

Its pace went faster and faster, as if she is a fifteen year-old girl seeing her crush up close. But yet she can't will herself to turn her gaze away...

...And it feels rather... unnatural...

When the man turned to her, she felt paralyzed, unable to move, or even to speak, she could make out some sentences that the man spoke, but her mind is occupied on trying to move just a little part of her body from the induced paralysis.

Then, her savior came when she felt a hand pats her shoulder.

She was able to turn her head, and in doing so, she saw the purple-haired young man that she bumped just before.

And he narrowed his eyes to the Samaritan as if he is trying to ward him off.

"Ah, I apologize," the blue haired man said when he saw the blonde woman that he had his eyes on is being embraced by another man, much more attractive than he is, though he wouldn't even think to admit it, "Is she your lady?" he asked him.

The purple-haired man merely narrows his eyes towards the one that named himself Samaritan and said: "Yes." before he promptly turned away, while bringing the blonde woman with him.

When they were still nearby, the purple-haired young man heard, "Hey! Will you join our party this afternoon?" he stopped, and in turn, the woman on his tow looked at the young man that had brought her out of her forcibly-induced reverie, "It will be quite a bash!" the Samaritan said as the woman besides him yelled in agreement.

Then, the young man turned and curtly said: "No. But thank you for the invitation." before they walked away.

...

* * *

...

"Thank you for what you did." said the blonde woman to her savior, "He was using a forbidden magic called Charm to attract women, I would've been ensnared by him if it weren't for you."

In response, the young man smiled, "It's no problem." he said before he starts to walk away.

"Wait!"

Responding to the blonde woman's call, the young man turned to her.

"Let me repay you, do you want something to eat?" she asked.

He contemplated it for a couple of seconds before he shrugged and said: "Why should I refuse?" indicating that he accepts the invitation.

...

They went to a nearby restaurant which was picked by the young man.

She didn't order anything, her intention is to repay the young man that had saved her. But even then, he only ordered food that are not too expensive, showing that despite the fact that he gets to eat a free meal, he doesn't want to put too much burden on the woman who pays for it.

After he finished his food, her eyes widened in realization: "Oh right! I forgot to introduce myself!" she said, "My name's Lucy, Lucy Heartfilia. What's yours?" she asked the young man.

The young man smirked before he said: "Dragneel, Natsu Dragneel. Nice to meet you Lucy."

"Likewise." She replied, "What are you doing here in Hargeon town?"

His expression changed slightly, his smile turned rather faint, and he answered: "A business to take care of, in fact, I already met my client, all that's left is to do my job."

"...What is your job?" Lucy asked, a bit curious by how his demeanor changed ever so slightly when she asked the question.

"A secret." he answered, "It's rather confidential for it to be discussed so openly, I'd rather not answer."

Lucy raised her hands in surrender after a brief moment of silence, "Okay, I'll stray off the topic."

"And what are _you _doing here Lucy?" Natsu asked.

"Oh, I'm just visiting, I was close to the area and so I thought: 'Why not?' and I did." she answered, "But, I'm kinda bummed by the fact that this town only has one magic store, and it's main target customers are traveling mages, so there isn't anything particularly great in there."

"Are you a mage?" asked the curious Natsu.

"Yeah, I'm a Celestial Mage." Lucy answered, "You know, mages who specializes in summoning contracted celestial spirits to fight, that sort of mage."

Natsu responded with: "That's kinda cool, what summons do you already have?"

"Um... I have three Golden Celestial Keys; Aquarius, Taurus, Cancer, and several Silver Celestial Spirit Keys, that's all I have, for now at least." she answered.

"...You're quite powerful to be able to form a contract to three Golden Celestial Spirits." Natsu remarked.

Lucy blushed in embarrassment at being complemented, "Ah... No, I'm... I'm not _that_ powerful yet..." she replied.

"What guild are you from?" Natsu asked.

She chuckled sheepishly and answered: "I'm not from any guild, yet, anyway... but I was hoping to join one... like Lamia Scale, Blue Pegasus... but, there's this one guild that I really want to join!"

"What is it?" asked Natsu with a smile when he saw how passionate she's being.

"Fairy Tail." Natsu's smile faints ever so slightly, but in her current status, she barely noticed the change, "The strongest guild in all of Fiore! Its mages are famous for their abilities and looks! It's been my dream for sometime now. It would be really amazing if I managed to get accepted as one of their member."

"I see." Natsu replied simply, "Have you... ever try to enlist by going there?"

She chuckled sheepishly as she scratches the back of her neck, "Hehe... see, even though I want to, I always feel that I'm not adequate enough to join... it always makes me delay my intention... This one time, I was all pumped up to go to Magnolia, walk straight into the Fairy Tail headquarters and join... but then, I found many reasons to not do that..."

She sighed despondently as she procured a humorless smile, "But in retrospect, I think I didn't _find _a reason as much as I _created _one..."

Natsu then asked her with: "I think all you need is just a little push in the right direction, huh?"

Her smile became more honest before she answered with: "Yeah, yeah... I think so."

...

"...Well..." Natsu said after a moment of comfortable silence, "I better go, duty calls. Thank you for the meal Lucy." with that, he stood up and began to leave.

But before he got too far away, he turned to her, "Oh, and by the way Lucy," he began, "Be careful with that man who claimed himself as The Samaritan, if he ever got to you and offer you things, just reject him, he practically reeks of lies."

And with that, he left the blonde young woman to her thoughts.

"Hm..." she hummed out loud as she mused about the warning that was given to her.

...

* * *

...

On another part of the city, The Samaritan could be seen wooing several women around him and enjoying the attention that they give to him.

"Ladies, ladies... calm down, how about I invite you all to a party this very evening? You will be given the most gracious of welcomes, of course."

As a response, all of them swooned, just as he expected.

But then came someone whom he didn't expect, not in the very least.

The purple-haired man wearing the damnable well-made coat that just feels all wrong whenever he sees him, the one who took that hot blonde away from him when she was under the influence of his Charm.

But he masked his real emotions quick and said: "Well hello friend, how may I, The Samaritan, help you today?"

His frown becomes more prominent, then he said, "Come with me, _Samaritan, _I want to talk to you about something."

"...Well, I would love to friend," he said, "But as you can see, I have many people that wants the same thing so... I guess you'll have to wait."

In response, his collar was grabbed by the man who seems to be angered even more by what he said, "Did I even imply that I was asking? If so, then forgive me for the confusion." he said before he starts to pull The Samaritan away from his adoring fans.

One of them even got up to him and yelled, "Hey! Let him go! Do you even know who he is? You will-"

However, the woman was cut off when the purple-haired man poked her head, and the one claiming himself as The Samaritan saw the woman's eyes turned bright purple before it fades to her natural brown.

"...Huh? What just happened?" she asked in confusion, as if she just woke up from a vivid dream.

The blue-haired man was shocked, 'D-did he just...?'

His thoughts were cut off when the man dragged him to the rooftops by jumping and boosts himself using the burst of the purple flame.

...

When the purple-haired man landed one of the roofs, he violently threw the Samaritan as if he is a worthless thing.

"Ow!" he yelled, "W-what do you think you're doing? I'm the Samaritan you fool! You won't be able to-!"

He was cut off when the purple-haired man's furious gaze bore into him, it was as if he's staring at the eyes of a powerful deity that no mortal should ever angered.

"If you are... the Samaritan..." he growled, "Tell me, what exactly happened in The Night of Purple Moon?"

The blue-haired man cursed himself mentally, The Night of the Purple Moon was one of the well-known events that shook Fiore and made the name Samaritan known across Fiore as a ruthless vigilante in addition to his title of The Virtuous Wanderer.

But, despite the destruction that The Samaritan brought upon the infamous Earth Dragon Bandits and the mountain in which they call home, no one knows what exactly happened between him and the leader of the bandit group, Eddard the Jade, as both of them disappeared from public that very night, leaving a hundred bandits wounded and tied up for the Rune Knights to arrest.

The blue-haired man knew he couldn't give a feasible answer, so he decided to lie, "Um... He, I-I mean, I... _I _killed the infamous Earthmage named Eddard, he was one of the most powerful criminals known across Fiore."

"Hm... that was acceptable..." said the purple-eyed man.

The blue-haired man was about to boast his apparent title when the man wearing the white scarf growled again, "But not accurate, The Samaritan had defeated many enemies sure, but he _never _killed anyone. That was one of the things he forbid himself from doing. Eddard wanted to repent after he was defeated, and for that, he lives."

"How do you know? You don't know me and what I do! I killed Eddard myself!" the blue-haired man denied hotly.

In response, the enraged man grabbed him by the collar and wrathfully said: "I don't think you killed him, because you see, the Samaritan is not known to kill his enemies, and no matter how famous the Samaritan is, he will never show his face around and claiming himself as The Samaritan that openly," Then he headbutts him and looked at the impostor directly in his eyes, "And he will _certainly _never uses a forbidden magic called Charm to attract women for dubious purposes... Bora of Prominence."

Bora's eyes widened, but contrary to his better judgment, he tried to deny it, "W-what are you talking about? I'm Sa-"

He was stopped when his abdomen was punched with a force equal to a charging bull.

But then, the source of pain was doubled when he was slammed to the roof that they're standing on, cracking the concrete in the process and making blood pouring out of his mouth.

"Bora of Prominence, former member of Titan Nose Guild due to aiding in thievery... clearly you are not the Samaritan like what the women around here have been led to believe." the purple-haired man spoke, "And there are rumors that you are now dealing in shady business, and that, is the reason why you're here... mind telling me what it is?"

As a response, Bora chuckled, despite his position, "Heh... like I would tell you..."

The purple-haired man merely frowned, not in anger, but in disappointment, wordlessly, he pulled Bora's right hand that has two magic rings with symbols that shows their purpose.

"A ring to cast Charm, and a ring to cast Sleep, the combination that is usually used by human traffickers... in other words... slavers..." he deduced.

Bora's eyes widened in fear, but the purple-haired man continues, "I deduce that your modus operandi is to Charm young women, bring them to your bash, and then make them unconscious using Sleep to send them off to god knows where... isn't that right, Bora?"

Knowing that he has been thoroughly busted, Bora tried to cast his Fire Magic on him...

...But the moment the purple-haired man grabbed his hand that was intended to cast the fire, he was unable to do so.

"H-how did you...?" he stammered.

In response, the purple-haired man procured a predatory grin, "My Flame doesn't just 'Burn' physical things..." then he grasped it tightly, and suddenly Bora could feel the searing heat that emanated from the man's palm and screamed due to the agonizing pain.

"Now I'm sure that _slavers _like you have a place where you rounded up the cattle, as you people like to say, I would prefer if you answer it for me." said the terrifying man.

Then, he completes his sentence with: "And don't lie..." he trailed off as his pupils becomes slitted, "...Unless you want me to let you alive with third-degree burns all over your body."

...

* * *

...

Moments after Natsu left Lucy, she goes to the nearby park to sit and rest until she decides to leave Hargeon and go to Magnolia.

_"You just need a little push." _was what the man named Natsu said to her, and he was right, if she has to judge herself, she would say that she is adequate enough to join Fairy Tail, even if they're a prestigious guild that only welcomes the elites just like she had been imagining for years, they won't be able to ignore a Celestial mage that possesses three Golden Celestial Keys, right?

"...I wonder why I haven't seen this before?" she wondered out loud. "Fairy Tail will accept me, I just have to believe in myself a little more." she said with full conviction.

"Alright!" she exclaimed as she clenched both of her fists and suddenly stood up, "I've decided!"

As if on cue...

**"Ka-blam!"**

The sound of an explosion rang throughout the city, and the smoke that came from the source rises to the air, indicating the destroyed thing was largely made out of wood.

"...What was that?" she asked out loud, and in an instant, decided to see what was it all about.

After she, along with a number of other people got to the source of the explosion, they saw a large ship on fire. But this alone is not very extraordinary...

But what is extraordinary is the fact that the color of the flame is a brilliant purple, both mesmerizing and terrifying at the same time...

'...Wow... what is that flame...? Even from here, I can feel its raw power, and the way the wood just... turn to ashes almost immediately... this flame is extraordinary...'

"Hey, everyone!"

She was cut off from her thoughts when someone yelled, "Take a look at that!"

The one who yelled pointed towards a general direction, where she and the onlookers around her saw several people being tied up and battered, along with the one who called himself as the Samaritan from before whose injury looks slightly worse compared to the others.

But, on his head a note was taped, it says: _"Dear Rune Knights, I am a fraud who uses someone else's identity and illegal magic to woo women and then sells them to shady men who has the money to buy them, along with me are my accomplices, please arrest us. Signed, Bora of Prominence."_

'...He was right...' Lucy thought as she saw the Rune Knights who came to see what's going on saw the tied slavers and apprehended all of them while the ship was turned to ashes seconds afterwards, 'He _was_ lying...! But, how did that guy Natsu knew that?'

After Bora and his men were taken away while most of the crowd follows, Lucy stayed and cupping her chin with her hand, wondering how could Natsu know about Bora's true identity.

In her concentration, Lucy jolted and shrieked out of surprise when someone touched her shoulder from behind.

"Whoa! Calm down!" exclaimed a familiar voice.

She turned and saw the familiar purple-haired young man who is raising his hands, "I called you several times but you didn't answer so I just tapped your shoulder, your reaction scared me a little."

"...Sorry," Lucy apologized, "I must've been too focused with my own thoughts and didn't hear you at all." she said as she smiled sheepishly and scratches the back of her neck.

"Well, as long as there's no misunderstanding..." Natsu said, "So..." he began as he looked towards the direction that the slavers was being taken, "...You saw the fraud and his crew..."

"...Yeah, I did... but how did you know?" Lucy asked.

Natsu smirked and said: "Let's just say that when one has an alias... he won't appreciate it being used without his permission... especially for disgusting purposes..."

"...Are you saying that the _real _Samaritan apprehended him and his gang?"

The purple-haired young man merely shrugged, "Who knows?"

'...Hm..., ...Wait... wait a minute... the Samaritan never showed his face, even those whom he helped didn't know what he looks like, there's not even a clear description of his face... so the only way for someone to be very sure that Bora is not the Samaritan... is for them to be the real deal...' she thought as she looked at the smiling figure of Natsu, '...No way...'

"A-are you...?" she began.

"Hm?"

"...Are you the Samaritan?"

In response, his smile widens, showing his longer than average canine. And even though he didn't say anything, his pleased expression answers it all...

"You are! You really are the-!" her exclamation was cut short when Natsu covers her mouth with his hand.

"I am." he whispered, "But could you please not do that? It might attract some unwanted attention..." ordered Natsu.

Lucy nodded and it prompted Natsu to remove his hand away from her lips, "Sorry..." she whispered back, "But this is awesome! You're one of the most famous mage in Fiore!" she exclaimed with a relatively low volume.

He chuckled, "Well, I don't know about that, several mages are more known than me, Titania, Gildarts Clive..."

"Oh don't be that hard on yourself, despite your mysterious nature, everyone knows how strong you are, even the infamous Eddard of the Jade was defeated by you." said the blonde-haired girl, "So... I guess that your job was to capture Bora?" she asked while smiling, "You kinda hinted it back then, now that I see who you are and what happened to that impostor..." she trailed off.

"Meh, more like a self-given mission, I heard a rumor about the Samaritan visiting cities and wooing women, and one of my informant within the Rune Knights mentioned that his route would bring him to this little town, so I came here... and it's done now."

Lucy grinned and said: "Another menace defeated by the Samaritan, hm?"

"I guess so." Natsu replied with his own grin.

After a shared laugh, Natsu asked; "So... where will you go from here Lucy?"

"...Well..." she began, "I... I've decided to go to Magnolia, and join Fairy Tail."

Natsu's eyes widened for a couple of seconds but it shrunk to their normal size afterwards, and his lips turned upward and created an honest smile from the purple-haired young man, "Finally gathered up the courage huh? Good for you."

"Yeah, thanks to you though, you said that I just need a little push, so I thought... why not actually try?" she asked rhetorically, "It's a lot better than assuming any negatives."

Natsu merely widens his smile before he replied with; "That's good, we won't go anywhere if we never attempt to venture out." he said rather sagely, "At what time will you be leaving?"

"Well, I was about to leave before I heard the explosion..." she said before a smile was procured by her lips, "By the way... are you also the one who destroyed Bora's ship? With those purple flames?"

"...Yes." Natsu answered, "But, I won't tell you what they are."

"Aww...!" she pouted, "Not even a little bit? His... I mean, _your_ power is also one of the mysterious aspect of the Samaritan..."

"And I think it should stay that way," Natsu said playfully before he added, "For now... at least."

She huffed in slight frustration but she decided to let it go, "Alright, well, it's been a pleasure meeting you, Natsu."

"It's a pleasure as well Lucy," Natsu said before he smirked and said; "But what makes you think that we'll never meet again?"

She was surprised at the question, "W-what do you mean by that?"

"My next destination is the same as yours, Magnolia. I'm going to meet some friends that I have there..."

"...Oh!" Lucy exclaimed, "Well, this is great! We can go together! This is so exciting, I can ask you so many questions on the way..." she trailed off before she asked, "You _are _going with the train right?"

Natsu was silent for a moment, his expression shows a bit of... uncertainty, and disgust, then he replied with: "...I don't think I'm going with a train... or any kind of transportation for that matter, I'm not really good with those..."

"...So... oh, well alright, I could walk too if that's what you want..." Lucy said.

In response, Natsu merely smirked before he said, "I'm not going to be taking a train or a wagon, but I'm not gonna walk either."

"...Huh?" Lucy mouthed out in confusion.

"I'll show you when you're ready to go, do you have any business left that you want to finish before going to Magnolia?"

"Um, no actually, I was about to leave when I heard what you did." Lucy answered, "How are you going to get to Magnolia?" she asked the mysterious mage.

Suddenly, Natsu responded with grasping her hand, smiling all the while, and made her blush a bit, "As I said, I'll show you."

Then she was swept off her feet as Natsu began to carry her as if she were his bride.

"E-E-Eeeeeh? W-what are you doing?" Lucy stuttered out due to how fast he moves.

In response, Natsu ignited his purple flame on the soles of his feet and creating a steady burst of flame that lifts them off the ground and into the sky.

Then, when they're high enough, Natsu procured another set of flames that seems to sprout just a few feet from his back that propels them north-west, towards Magnolia.

"W-we're... we're flying! we're flying!" Lucy screamed out in both awe and terror, "How are you doing this? Are you a flame mage?"

"Something like that." replied Natsu before he turned his head towards Lucy while grinning and said, "Now you know how I get around the world."

Lucy couldn't even form a word to express the awe that she is feeling, she was overwhelmed by the feeling of being carried through the sky as the wind blows against her and the one carrying her, along with that, she's also a bit embarrassed -though rather elated-, by the close contact with the handsome and mysterious mage.

Natsu Dragneel, The Samaritan. Someone whom she admires due to the many stories of his good deeds that he did without pay to anyone who needs him. And about the beatings that he gave to those who deserves it. A mysterious, powerful, and yet kind mage, who never hesitates to give his assistance should the need arise and he was nearby...

And to think that she now knows his true identity and his power, and along with it, his trust...

She couldn't help but feel elated.

Her lips twitched upward, forming a bright smile that equals Natsu's own as they flew towards the city of Magnolia...

And to Fairy Tail...

* * *

**End of Prologue...**

* * *

Alright! So, do you guys like this prologue? A lot of ideas has been plaguing my mind for a couple of months now, and this is one of them.

Please review, and stay tuned for the next chapter of this story.

Note: This Fairy Tail story _might_ venture into AU territory, that being, the canon universe's lore might be different than this universe's background lore, and therefore, there might be some original arcs, so consider yourself warned...

And if you're asking: "Where is Happy?" Well, just wait and find out... I got a little something planned for the lovable blue cat...


	2. Chapter 1: Of Old Friends

**DISCLAIMER: **Fairy Tail is owned by Hiro Mashima, not me.

...

Quite an uninteresting disclaimer isn't it? But it works.

* * *

**Chapter 1:Of Old Friends and New Worries.**

* * *

_Days before the events that happened in Hargeon town..._

Inside the Master's quarters of Fairy Tail's guildhouse, Makarov can be seen stretching himself to get rid of the stiffness that he got from his four-hour sleep.

"Gaaaaah! My spine!" Makarov yelled out in pain as his back was struck by an incredible jolt of pain due to the stretching, "Grh... Not a good way to start my morning..." he muttered out loud.

The short elderly mage then walked over to his wardrobe and changed his clothes to his usual ones, humming a distinctive, jovial tone along the way.

"Alright...!" he exclaimed while exhaling, "Another pulled spine this morning, don't make this more of a hindrance than it already is..." he muttered out before he walked to the door.

But before he managed to open the door, Makarov realized that there's something amiss...

Or, that there's something added..

An envelope, on his night desk, that bears a rather distinctive symbol on its crest.

'This is...' Makarov muttered inwardly due to him recognizing the symbol... '...After all these years...' he solemnly thought.

He opened the envelope and proceed to retrieve, unfold, and read the letter contained inside... And after he read the contents, he smiled...

Finished with the letter, Makarov re-fold the letter and put it back in the envelope.

He exhaled another breath, this time out of immense relief and happiness, he then put back the letter on his night-desk before he exit his bedroom.. smiling all the while, due to the elation that was given by the letter's content...

"After all these years..." He muttered out.

...

* * *

...

It was early in the afternoon in Magnolia, the town famous for housing the famous Fairy Tail guild. The residents ranging from all ages were doing their respective activities within their homes or their workplace, or their schools.

And it was due to this fact that most of them didn't see the trails of purple flames that soared right above them.

"...aaaaAAAAAAH!"

...But after awhile, they do notice the sound of a woman who screamed rather hysterically...

**"BOOM!" "CRACK!"**

...And also the sound of something big landed and cracked the concrete...

Out of curiosity, those who heard the noises goes towards the location to investigate, and what they found was a rather large crater... though not the object that could made such a thing...

However, a few feet away from the gathered crowd...

"Did you _have_ to do that?" Lucy hissed out to Natsu, not wanting to make the crowd's attention turn towards them, "That scared the hell out of me!"

"It's the fastest way to get down.." Natsu replied, "It's not like I didn't warn you, and besides, if you're worried about the damage, Magnolia has endured Gildarts, what I did was nothing compared to what he has done numerous times in the past..."

Lucy exhaled exasperatedly, "Well, let's not do that again, at least not without a really, really early warning." she said.

"Noted." Natsu said while procuring a rather bashful, but quite influential smile. "Now, let's just forget about this fiasco and go to Fairy Tail, yeah?"

Lucy sighed before she also smiled, "Alright... sorry for.. you know, acting rather hysterically."

"It was no problem." Natsu waved off her apology. "It was partly my fault anyway, so if anything, the one apologizing should be me."

The blonde young woman smiled at Natsu's humbleness, she nodded and the two went about their way.

Along the way, Lucy couldn't help but notice how the people around Magnolia seems to view Natsu as someone's famous, what, with the way they keep their peripheral vision focused on him for quite sometime after they managed to see him.

Their eyes showed that they are somewhat confused, as they found him familiar, somehow, but yet not to the point where they could remember _who _he actually is.

"Hey, Natsu." Lucy called rather quietly from besides him.

"Hm?"

"Have you seen the way people looking at you? It looks like they recognize you."

Natsu merely shot a glance to some of them, prompting them to look away due to being caught staring at him, then he said; "I have, though they might mistook me for someone else."

"Hm... like who?"

"...Like I said, someone else that might look a lot like me." Natsu replied rather curtly.

Lucy giggled after a few seconds, prompting Natsu to look at her with questioning stare, in response, she answered, "I'm just laughing at the thought that there's someone else besides you who has that kind of hair."

Hearing Lucy's answer, Natsu couldn't help but chuckle, "Hehe... Yeah, I guess it is pretty funny..."

...

* * *

...

Makarov smiles to himself as he sat on the barstool, watching his beloved guild members mingle around like they used to.

After Natsu's disappearance, it took several months to get them back, back to be the group of joyous people like before, but even when they managed to do it, it was _far _more subdued, the memory of the missing dragon slayer prevented them from fully coming back to 'the good old days'.

And it took them another couple of months to recover when they heard the news of Lisanna's death.

They spent most of their time to console Mira and Elfman, the latter felt that he was the one responsible for her death, while the former thought she should've done more to save her little sister.

Though they got out of it afterwards, it did change them, as grief had always done to many people who lost someone to death's embrace.

Elfman became more obsessed about masculinity, always challenging his fellow guild members to fight him so that his skills can be sharpened.

Mirajane, however, she was the one who changed the most, her tomboyish demeanor and her personality turned a complete 180 degree turn, she became an inactive member of the guild despite her skills, and now, she mostly stays in the guildhouse as the bartender that keep things in check.

Though now, with the news that he got from several days ago, Makarov couldn't help but smile like there is nothing restricting him from doing so.

And it is something that caught the attention of Mirajane.

"Master." she said.

"Hm?"

"You're having that smile again." she stated, "Has something good happened to you these past few days?"

"Heh, well... you can say that, Mira." Makarov answered, "I saw a piece of good news several days ago, it brought some warmth into this old man's heart when I read it."

"Wow, what is it about?" Mirajane asked, curious to know the reason of the old man's happiness.

"Ah, I'm sure that you will know soon enough." Makarov replied rather cryptically. "I'll be in my room now, take care Mira." he said as he left his stool.

But he stopped midway and said to Mira, "Oh by the way, if there are any newcomers, give them a warm welcome as we always do, will you?" he asked her before he left.

His request confused Mirajane, as Fairy Tail is known for its hospitality, for Makarov to tell her specifically to give them a warm welcome could only mean one thing...

'It must be someone that master has expected...' she deducted. 'Well, if that's the case, then I'll be sure to give them the warmest welcome.' she thought with a smile.

Little did she know how true her assumption was... and little did she know how soon it would be proven correct.

...

* * *

...

"Wow..." Lucy mouthed out in awe, "So this is Fairy Tail..."

While Lucy gazed upon the guildhouse in awe, Natsu gazed at the building with a solemn look on his face.

Something that Lucy took notice of when she turned towards him because of his silence.

"Hey, are you alright?"

He tilted his head downward, as if contemplating his answer, "Somewhat." he said, "I had a history with this place... part of me is happy to see it again... but the other..."

The purple-haired man shook his head and said; "Nevermind, let's get inside."

While Lucy is somewhat confused by what he said, she decided to comply and enter the guildhouse alongside him.

And when they entered, they were treated with the view of the members enjoying their time, whether it's talking, playing games, or even drinking with their close friends within the guild.

Among them, Lucy noticed a couple of well-known mages, such as the handsome mage named Loke, the sexy Card Dealer named Cana Alberona, and the infamous ice mage named Gray Fullbuster.

...Whose positive image are totally ruined by their behavior...

Loke, who is considered as one of the most handsome mage in Fiore, is apparently a lecherous playboy who is currently 'enjoying' his time with the two women at his side, Cana Alberona turned out to be a heavy drinker that can drink an entire liquor from a large barrel, and Gray Fullbuster turned out to be...

"Gray, you're in your underwear again."

"Gah! Really? Again!?" he exclaimed in shock as he looked down and saw that he only wore a striped boxer.

...A damn pervert...

And when she looked around, it would seem that nearly all the members are a rowdy bunch, nothing like what Lucy imagined. She thought that members of an elite guild would act like one, well-mannered, posh, calm, such as the norm would dictate...

But seeing it firsthand, it's now clear to Lucy that Fairy Tail is not a guild that follows such dictation.

"...This is nothing like I thought it would be... Ne, Na-" she said before turning towards Natsu, and when she did so, she caught a glimpse of him smiling as he looked upon the ruckus that is made by the members of Fairy Tail.

The smile that came from his lips is rather similar to a smile that one would be having if one were reunited with a sorely missed family member after such a long time...

Something that saddened Lucy to a degree, "Hey, Natsu." she called him.

That brought him out of his reverie as he turned and said rather shakily, "Y-yeah?"

"Are you alright?" she asked, "You've been acting weird ever since we got here.. what's going on?"

Natsu sighed as he said; "It's an old memory of mine... of this place... even after such a long time, some things just doesn't change..."

"...You've been here before?"

He smiled and answered; "You could even say that I practically lived here."

"..What do you-"

Before she could ask him, she was approached by a beautiful woman with white hair and black dress whose famous smile suddenly brightened the room in Lucy's perspective.

"Excuse me," she began, "Are you a newcomer?"

"Ah, Mirajane-san!" Lucy exclaimed out in surprise at the famous white-haired mage whose beauty is known throughout Fiore through the mage weekly magazines that she has appeared in, "Y-yes! I am! I'm Lucy Heartfilia, and this is-"

Natsu cut her off her sentence when he put his hand on her shoulder. He looked at Mirajane with his forlorn expression, though he stood silent, as if appraising her.

...

When Mirajane saw the blonde haired girl and the purple-haired man enter, she had a feeling that those two are the ones that Master Makarov talked about, a pair of newcomer that must be given a warm welcome.

So she made it her job to be the first one to welcome them into Fairy Tail if they so choose.

But even though the blonde young woman's reaction is somewhat... predictable, the purple haired one confused her a little bit.

Mirajane gazed back at the purple-haired young man, and even though she has never seen him before, something about him feels familiar somehow, '...He reminds me of someone... but... who...?' she thought.'

She saw as the young man slowly procured a smile, and as he did so, she was reminded of a certain boy from her childhood, whose grin was somewhat similar to the young man's smile.

And what's more... that white scarf...

She began to tremble, her eyes began to procure tears as she muttered out, "...Y-you... you're..."

The young man then said; "It's Natsu, Natsu Dragneel. It's nice to meet you again, Mira."

...

* * *

...

Natsu had expected some things when he decided to go back to Fairy Tail.

One, he expected that the guild's vigor hasn't changed since he left, Fairy Tail members are strong after all, so he would expect that everyone moved on a while after his disappearance.

Which, much to his delight, is proven true when he entered the guildhouse.

Two, his old friends' behavior remains unchanged as well, Gray is still the aggravating streaker, Erza is still the strict girl who keeps everyone in their place, Mirajane is still the wild girl that always push people around..., and so on.

Though he doesn't yet know about Erza and the others, he saw that Gray is still the same, while Mirajane is no longer the same girl that he remembered.

...Which means something must've happened, either it's because of his absence, or during that time...

Three, he expected that he would be welcomed warmly by the members of the guild, he is still a member of the family after all. Even after his long absence.

But what he did not expect, is Mirajane Strauss, the wild girl that she was, suddenly crying and hugging him for all he is worth...

He could feel her trembling and sobbing as she hugged him tightly, it would seem that she is afraid, afraid that if she let him go for even a second, he will disappear once more.

The other members noticed this, and they all turned to the man that they thought was the reason why their beloved Mirajane cry.

"Hey! What did you do to make nee-chan cry like that!?"

"How dare you did that to our angel!"

"Who do you think you are!?"

Though Mirajane didn't hear any of it, she kept on hugging him and cried her heart out...

After a while, the group turned silent as it was clear that Mirajane is not crying _because _of him as much as it was because of another reason that _involved _him.

Finally, Natsu sighed and hugged her back, which calmed her down a bit, "It's okay Mira... I'm not going anywhere..."

She calmed down considerably, though she didn't let him go, then, she replied rather weakly; "(sob)... I hope so... I really hope so..."

Then she slightly tilted her head upward to look directly at his smiling face, and she couldn't help but to reciprocate it kindly, though she still couldn't hold back the tears from her eyes...

"I'm so glad you're back... Natsu." she finally said.

...

* * *

...

"W-who?"

"Natsu? The little kid Natsu?"

"N-no way... that can't be him."

"But that white scarf, it _must _be him! He looks different, but that white scarf is Natsu's for sure!"

"Then... he's back!"

"He's really back!"

Lucy watched as the whole guild yelled and began to form a mob and huddled closer to Natsu. Her mind reeled as she tried to figure out what exactly is happening, why Mirajane reacted that way towards him, and why are the guild members acting as if they know Natsu their whole life and welcoming him like a family would welcome their own.

Though she want some answers, she decided to wait until all of the commotion died down.

Then, she heard someone sighing beside her. She turned around, only to find no one.

"He has changed so much..."

Hearing that the source of the voice came from below, she looked down, and found a small old man wearing a rather ridiculously jovial-looking outfit, overseeing the familial reunion.

Then the old man turned to Lucy and said; "You came with Natsu, I presume? I've never seen you before, and I know everyone here."

"A-ah, yes. I came with Natsu..." Lucy answered, "Who are you mister?"

The old man extended his hand and said; "The name's Makarov, I am Fairy Tail's guildmaster. Pleased to meet you."

Lucy was befuddled for a second, this little old man is the guildmaster? He looks so harmless... 'But then again, there is a saying, 'don't judge a book by its cover'... he may be stronger than he appears...' she thought before she reciprocated the gesture.

"My name's Lucy Heartfilia, pleasure to meet you, master Makarov."

He then chuckled, "Master? What are you calling me master for? You're not a member of this little guild of mine." he said, "That is, unless you want to join us."

"I-it's actually the reason I came here... I want to become a member of Fairy Tail." Lucy answered.

Makarov nodded as he smiled, "Very well, very well, Mirajane shall take care of that business for you." he said, "After this... celebration, of course." he added as he motioned his hand to show the members surrounding the smiling Samaritan.

Taking this chance to ask the master himself, Lucy turned to him and ask; "Um, master Makarov, why is Natsu being treated like this? How do they... know him?"

"...He didn't tell you?"

Confused by the question, Lucy asked back; "Tell me what?"

Makarov's expression turned somewhat solemn as he said; "He was one of the most precious member of our guild... still is, if you don't count his disappearance..."

"...Disappearance?"

Makarov nodded, "Yes, it happened many years ago, he was so young back then... Many of us were saddened by his disappearance... in fact, most of the members her thought that he was... dead."

Lucy's mind reeled with more questions, "W-what happened?"

Makarov sighed despondently, "From our point of view, it was as if his existence was erased..." he began, "No clue where he had gone, no witnesses that had seen him... nothing that could've helped us locate him..."

"I suppose it _was_ our fault that we only realized he had disappeared when it was far too late for us to find him... we were too focused on Gildarts' bash, when he heard that it was partly his fault, he abandoned his mission briefly to try and find him, but even he couldn't do it..."

"But that is the limit of our perspective on the matter, as to what _exactly _happened, Natsu himself is the one you should ask... all we have are speculations... and most of it are either outlandish or gruesome... something that you wouldn't want to know if you are seeking the truth."

Then the master left, leaving Lucy to ponder his words.

She must admit, she is rather curious as to what exactly happened, 'Though it _would _be rather rude to ask him directly, seeing that I'm not really that close to him...' she thought.

But as she saw the Samaritan, she saw that despite his expression, there's something beneath his eyes that seemed rather odd... it's as if he is both happy and remorseful at the same time...

Something that is also noticed by a certain white haired, former S-class mage of Fairy Tail.

...

* * *

...

After the mob has somewhat rescinded, Mirajane found herself serving some drinks to Natsu at the bar while the others are singing rather happily in the background.

Natsu's return is clearly something that wouldn't be soon forgotten, even his former rival, Gray Fullbuster, is elated to see him well, and that he has matured a lot over the few years.

Cana had commented that she found him hot, though she later added that it could be the booze that made her so.

However, due to the euphoria, none of them even remember to ask what exactly happened to him, considering that it is rather important, Mirajane has every intention to ask what happened, and why.

"So Natsu, what'll it be? Strawberry shake?" she asked, knowing that Natsu used to like the beverage, hoping that he still does.

Natsu nodded, "Sure Mira." he answered rather succinctly, much to Mira's happiness.

As she went to make the beverage, the blonde-haired woman that came along with Natsu came to the bar and sat besides him.

"Hey Natsu."

"Hey." Natsu replied to Lucy before he said; "I guess you want to know what that's all about."

She responded positively, "Pretty much, yeah." she said, "Master Makarov spoke to me... he said that you're a part of this guild once... until..."

"...My disappearance, yes."

Mirajane's ears perked at the possibility of Natsu explaining what exactly happened.

Lucy, unaware that she shared Mirajane's interest, then asked him; "Could you maybe... tell me what happened? I-if you don't want to, I'll understand." she added.

Natsu's response was; "It's alright to ask, but... it's not something that I can easily share..." he said rather despondently, "I'm sorry, maybe some other time..."

Hearing the somber tone of his voice caused the willpower within Lucy and Mirajane's heart to fade, and they instantly buried the thoughts of asking him about what happened.

"No no, it's okay... I'm the one who should be sorry for being insensitive..." apologized Lucy.

Natsu merely smiled and said; "You're just curious, it's alright."

Then, Mirajane came to Natsu and placed the glass with strawberry milkshake for him to drink.

"Thanks Mira." Natsu said before he began to drink the beverage with quite a gusto that reminded the white-haired young woman of the very lively boy that used to brighten any situation within the guild.

'Although his personality has changed... his warmth has not...' she thought wistfully.

Then, she turned to Lucy and asked, "So, Lucy... are you here to join Fairy Tail?"

"Ah, yes!" Lucy answered, "Ma-Master Makarov told me that you're responsible for the newcomers..."

The white-haired young woman smiled and said; "Why yes, come here, let me stamp the Fairy Tail's mark on you."

Lucy did so, and when the mark is placed, the blonde woman couldn't help herself, she smiled so brightly while giggling rather loudly, elated at the prospect of finally joining one of the strongest, if not _the _strongest guild in all of Fiore.

Mirajane giggled back when she saw Lucy's reaction, "That's a wonderful reaction... forgive me for guessing, but had you been wanting to join us for some time?"

The blonde young woman giggled in slight embarrassment, "Hehe... yeah, I had been..." she admitted.

"Well then," Mirajane began, "Then let me be the first to officially welcome you as a member of Fairy Tail, Lucy Heartfilia. Or should I call you Lucy?"

"Ah, thank you Mirajane-san!" Lucy exclaimed, "And, yes, Lucy would be just fine with me."

Mirajane nodded before she turned to Natsu, whom she found looking around the room as if looking for a certain someone in particular.

"...Hey, Mira..." Natsu began, his tone filled with trepidation.

"Yes Natsu?"

"...Where's Lisanna?"

...

The moment Natsu asked that question, Mirajane's expression turned for the worse.

She slightly tilted her head downward, as if she doesn't want to make direct eye contact with either Natsu or Lucy, she frowned, not in anger but in sadness, and the edge of her lips turned slightly downward.

Noticing this, Natsu immediately realized that he asked a sensitive question, but because he's concerned about his best friend's well-being, Natsu asked her again, "Mira... what happened to her?"

"...She... she died... Natsu..."

Natsu's eyes widened at the answer, though he managed to calm himself and prevented any outburst, he asked again, "How did it happen?"

...

And so, Mira told the whole story about Elfman's inadvertent rampage that took Lisanna's life... And Natsu took it quite badly, as he did not speak the whole time nor did he make any eye contact as he closed his eyes during the whole story, presumably it's his way to concentrate and control himself.

But this makes Mirajane afraid about Natsu's disposition towards her little brother. She is afraid that because of this, Natsu will hate Elfman.

"Natsu... it's... it's not his fault... please, don't hate Elfman for this..." she pleaded Natsu.

He sighed shakily, "There's no need for me to hate him, as you said, it was not his fault..." he said, "But I guess that explains why he was rather reluctant to speak to me when he realized who I am..." he added as he looked at Elfman on the other side of the room, who tried to hide the fact that he had been watching him for some time by hastily turning his head to another direction.

Mirajane then said, "...I think he doesn't know how he should begin... after Lisanna's death, he was very afraid of what would happen if you returned and discover that she's gone, I thought he had forgotten about it when we had pretty much accepted the notion of your death, but... it seems I was wrong..."

Natsu sighed again, "I'll find some time to talk to him and bring him out of that fear... in the mean time..." he trailed off and stood up, "I think I'm going to the graveyard for awhile..."

Then with that, he left, prompting Mirajane to breath out a sigh, "I'm sorry, Natsu..." she muttered.

Lucy, who had been sitting beside Natsu and heard the whole story in silence, muttered out, "Um... I-I'm sorry for your loss, Mirajane-san..."

The white-haired young woman smiled sadly and said; "Thank you Lucy... and please, call me Mira..."

"Okay, Mira..." Lucy corrected herself, "Um, Mira... Natsu... seems quite saddened by your sister's death... who was she to him?"

"...She was his best friend... and I think... that they were more than just that..." she answered.

...

* * *

...

_A few hours later..._

At the graveyard, the figure of Natsu Dragneel can be seen looking down towards the tombstone with the name 'Lisanna Strauss' embedded upon its surface.

He stood silently for quite sometime... as if contemplating on what he wants to do...

But in reality, his mind wandered off... to a certain fond memory that he has of her...

...

_"Hello, my name's Lisanna, what's yours?"_

_"N-Natsu, Natsu Dragneel."  
_

_"Natsu? That's a cute name, and you have pink hair too, you're so cute!"  
_

_"Wha-? No I'm not cute, I'm-! H-hey, stop hugging me!"  
_

_"Hmhmm... You're blushing~!"  
_

_"N-no I don't! You're just imagining things! And stop hugging me!"  
_

...

That was their first meeting, back then, Natsu had only been a Fairy Tail member for a relatively short time, and he was quite awkward at social interaction, but that meeting was the first time he ever had a long conversation with someone that he truly enjoyed being around with.

And from then on, he became accustomed to the members of Fairy Tail, to the point where he actively engaged in conversations with all of the members of Fairy Tail at every chance he got.

But he will never forget that she was his first friend, the best one at that...

And now, he found that she was gone in his absence...

A pang of guilt stroke his heart, he knelt down and touched the tombstone rather affectionately as he focused his eyes on the name embedded on the stone.

He stayed in that position for a few seconds before he said...

"I'm sorry I wasn't there for you Lisanna..." he said with a tone of voice that indicates how heartbroken he is.

Then he closed his eyes and stood still for quite a long time before he opened his eyes again.

"Lucy." he greeted without even looking back.

"H-hey." she greeted back in surprise, not knowing that he could sense her somehow, "I... came here to check up on you."

"Did Mira told you to?" asked Natsu.

Lucy shook her head, "No, I did it out of my own volition." she answered, "I heard about how close you two were and... I want to come here to pay my respects too..."

He turned to her, and he saw that she was telling the truth as she brought a bouquet of flowers with her, in response, he smiled and said; "Thank you."

Lucy nodded before she walked to Lisanna's grave, she looked over the tombstone and placed the bouquet on the soil of her final resting place.

After a moment of silence, Lucy's eyes caught something that was engraved on the upper corner of the tombstone.

It was a rough and somewhat cartoon-ish engraving of a cat's head, and beneath it, there lies a word that said; 'Friend'.

"Hey Natsu, look at this." Lucy said as she pointed her finger towards the unfamiliar engraving.

Natsu did as she said, and frowned in response, '...Friend...?' he pondered the word beneath the picture of the cat's head.

"I wonder who did this...?" Lucy asked rhetorically as she brushed her fingers over the engravings, and by doing so, she could say that it was not recently made...

"Perhaps Mira knows." Natsu stated, "Let's get back to Fairy Tail, there's no way she doesn't know that someone engraved that on her sister's tombstone."

...

* * *

...

_Fairy Tail HQ._

"So, nee-chan... how did he react when you told him...?" asked Elfman.

Sometime after Natsu left, Elfman came to his sister to ask what they were talking about.

And when she answered, he becomes worried, understandably so, because it was the moment that he had been afraid for years ever since Lisanna's death. The moment where Natsu Dragneel finds out that he inadvertently killed his sister in a failed attempt to control his Take Over magic.

Mirajane smiled to give her brother some assurance and said; "It's alright Elfman, he doesn't blame you nor hates you, he knows that you're not someone that would do such a thing so willingly."

Though Elfman is somewhat comforted, it didn't reach to a degree where it visibly calmed him down, "Well... alright, if you say so nee-chan..."

After he said that, the said person that he's afraid of has returned from his visit to the graveyard, along with the girl that came with him to the guild.

Then he saw Elfman, who looks somewhat uncomfortable around him, and said; "Hello Elfman."

"H-hey... Natsu... It's uh... it's nice to see you." he lamely greeted while trying to not make any eye contact with him.

"To you too." Natsu answered, "Elfman, just a little bit clarification, don't worry about me, I do not blame you for what happened with Lisanna."

"...I heard about it from nee-chan, but... are you really okay with it?"

Natsu sighed in response, "I'm still coping, but I know you wouldn't do such a thing consciously. Again, I don't blame you." he then patted Elfman's shoulder, "And you should stop worrying. It just doesn't fit you, you know?"

Elfman was relieved, more than that, he was happy, to hear that he is not held as responsible by Natsu, who was Lisanna's best friend, he sniffed as he fought the oncoming tears.

"Yes, thank you Natsu..." He then entrapped Natsu in a bear hug for a couple of seconds before he returned back to what he was doing.

Natsu coughed a little due to the amount of strength that Elfman used to hug him, his ribs would've cracked for certain if it weren't for his enhanced durability, "Elfman's gotten pretty strong..." he remarked out loud before he sat at the barstool, with Lucy following him afterwards.

"That he does..." Mirajane remarked back, "Ever since Lisanna's death, he always sought to make himself more capable of controlling his Take Over magic. To an extent, he succeeded, but..."

"He's still not at your level." Natsu completed the sentence.

She sighed, "Yes, though he will be, in time..." she stated.

"No doubt of that." Natsu said before he continued with; "Mira... there's something that Lucy and I found in Lisanna's graveyard."

"...What was it?" Mira asked.

Lucy opted to answer, "It was an engraving of a cat's head with the word 'Friend' inscribed right below it... it looked like it was there for quite sometime and-"

"-We thought you'd know something about it." Natsu completed.

"O-Oh, that... it was something that Happy wrote when she died..."

"...Happy?" Lucy asked.

Mira nodded as she smiled morosely, "Yes, Happy, I think we have a painting that depicts his appearance, hold on..." she said as she went to look for the painting.

She returned seconds afterward, and when Natsu and Lucy went to look...

...They got even more confused...

"There, that's Happy." Mira said as she points towards a certain blue creature which Lisanna playfully rode.

"...Happy is a... dragon?" Lucy asked.

The white-haired young woman giggled, rather embarrassed by the painting's incorrect portrayal of Happy, "Well, no... Happy was a cat... a small, winged cat with blue fur that can also talk and stand on its two legs..."

...

"You're kidding me right?" asked Natsu who had pictured a hybrid of a fairy and a cat that looks both bizarre and grotesque in his imagination.

Lucy also shared Natsu's sentiment as she said; "How could such a creature exist?"

Mirajane merely shrugged bashfully, "(chuckles), all I know is that Lisanna found an egg in the eastern forest and brought it home, she was so happy back then, so I let her nurture the egg."

"She thought that it might be an egg of a dragon, considering its size, but when it hatched, we were all surprised when instead of a dragon, there's this small blue cat." she continued before she smiled sadly, "But it didn't make her less happy, and hence, it became his name."

"But when Lisanna died..." she trailed off, "All Happy did was to visit her grave every single day for hours... we couldn't even budge him from that routine, until..."

"...Until what?" Lucy asked.

"...Until he disappeared as well... when he hadn't come home for two days straight, me and Elfman searched the whole city for him, I even asked for the guild's help, but..."

Seeing her saddened expression, Natsu and Lucy understood that they didn't find the blue cat in the end, and that he's still out there, somewhere...

"...I guess it hits you pretty hard as well..." Natsu remarked.

"...First it was you..." Mirajane started, "Then it was Lisanna... then Happy..." she listed off, "These past few years, we've lost quite a lot of people that we care about..."

Then, she grasped his palm affectionately, "But now you're here... and I, along with the others couldn't be more grateful..." she said as she smiled, "You've given us hope... even if you don't realize it just yet..."

Natsu sighed as he reciprocated Mirajane's gesture, and even though he stayed silent afterwards, he did give a warm smile towards her.

And in the process, it made her cheeks flush, along with Lucy's...

...

Makarov, who had been perching himself on the railings on the second floor, watched the interaction that Natsu have been doing with a smile, 'You just don't know how important you are to us, Natsu...' he thought.

But then, his expression turned sour, 'But... with what he has... how long will these days last...?' he questioned.

After a few seconds of silence, he sighed, 'Well... better to enjoy what we have until that day comes, I guess...'

...

* * *

...

_The next morning...  
_

'...He looks so peaceful...' Mirajane thought as she stares at the sleeping figure of Natsu Dragneel.

Natsu had literally spent the whole day in the guild yesterday, even when it was time for Mira to close them, as he said that he wants to spend the night in the guildhouse, to make up for the time when he went missing.

Mira had let him, mostly due to how... nostalgic he was being, she just couldn't say no.

And when she returned to the guild, she found him sleeping by sitting in a chair while leaning his back against the wall.

She had smiled and thought that it was rather cute seeing him at his vulnerable form.

That is, until her curiosity got the better of her...

It started quite innocent, she only wanted to check the differences of his physical form compared to when they were kids.

Starting from the color of his hair, his voice that became a few octaves deeper, then the shape of his face, and afterwards, it came to his sculpted body...

From there, Mirajane's focus turned towards his sleeping face, how peaceful it looked, and despite the years that had gone by, the expression that he has when he's fast asleep never changed...

But of course, she was so focused on his face that it didn't occur to her how close their faces are, to the point where the tips of their nose almost touched...

...Until the moment when she wondered how his face became quite big from her perspective, then she instantly realized it and backed off.

Coincidentally, Natsu's eyes opened just afterwards, but it seems that he didn't know what had transpired as when he noticed Mirajane, he said; "...Good morning Mira."

"G-good morning to you too, N-Natsu..." Mira answered as she struggled to make the blush on her cheeks fade.

"...You seem troubled, is there something wrong?" he asked Mira due to her current state.

"E-everything's fine Natsu, just fine..." she answered.

Though he wasn't fully convinced, Natsu shrugged and let the matter drop as he goes to say; "Are you going to prep things up?"

"Um... yes, I am." she answered before she chuckled rather awkwardly, "Actually, I'm going to go there, so..."

"Let me help you." Natsu said, surprising Mirajane, "It's the least I could do when I'm here."

"Well... sure." she said, accepting Natsu's offer.

And all the while, she couldn't help but to steal more than a few glances towards the purple-haired young man out of what her mind deemed as curiosity.

...

_A couple of hours afterwards..._

"Come on! Why do you refuse to fight me? Don't tell me that you got turned to a chicken." Gray Fullbuster said to Natsu.

On his part, Natsu merely sighed, after he and Mirajane finished prepping the guildhouse, the members started pouring in in large numbers, Natsu let Mirajane do her work while he chose to sit at the barstool in case she needed further assistance.

And that's where Gray came and began to tease him for awhile, in the past, Natsu would've responded to his teasing by instigating a fight, but after what he had lived through...

He just doesn't find it as something worth doing any longer... "I think I've already moved past that phase Gray, though thank you for the offer."

Gray's scowl persisted for a few second before he sighed.

When he saw Natsu finally returned after so many years, the first thing on his mind was how much he has changed.

Not just physically, but the way he held himself. There's no more traces of the hot-headed and brash kid who declared himself as Gray's rival long ago, now he only sees the calm and composed young man that he is.

He would be lying if it didn't irritate him in the slightest, he teased him because he was hoping that the hot-head attitude that Natsu is known for is still inside him, somewhere, but it seems that he was wrong.

Though he could see that he rejected his proposal to fight not out of broken spirit, but because he sees it as pointless. And even though there's a small part of him that wants to see the old Natsu that he knew...

'Nothing can be done I suppose...' he thought melancholicly.

And with that, he left Natsu alone, though he gave up the teasing for now because he realized how different the current Natsu is compared to how he was, he is rather interested in how strong he is now, after the lengthy absence from the guild.

After all, it's impossible for someone to be gone after so many years and didn't get better in the process...

...

"You handled that pretty well Natsu." Mirajane remarked, "You certainly behave more like an adult." she said with a smile.

Natsu smiled back and said; "Thank you Mira."

Seconds afterwards, Lucy Heartfilia entered the guild and sat besides Natsu again, "Good morning Natsu." she greeted him.

"Morning, Lucy." he greeted back, "So how was the apartment?"

"It was good!" she exclaimed, "It's big, cozy, not to mention elegant as well. You should come by sometimes."

"I'll think about it." said Natsu, then he noticed the pink-colored Fairy Tail stamp on the back of her right hand and said; "By the way, now that you're one of us, ever think about going on a mission?"

"Hm..." Lucy hummed as she tilted her head towards the board where the members can take any jobs that are posted in there. "I'm interested... but, most of the jobs had been taken already..." she said as she pointed out that the board is nearly empty.

Natsu turned and hummed in disappointment, "Hm... pity, I was going to ask you out too..."

Lucy's reaction was as expected, her cheeks flushed and she stuttered out; "E-excuse me?!"

"...Ask you out on a mission." Natsu answered, knowing that he was misleading her with his previous remark.

"O-oh! I-I see..." Lucy said before she chuckled with embarrassment, "Sorry, it sounded like you're asking me out..."

The purple-haired young man replied with; "I'm sorry for misleading you as well." he said evenly before he turned to Mira, "Mira, can I..." he trailed off as soon as he saw the furrowed eyebrows on the woman's face. "What's wrong?"

"Hm...? Nothing Natsu, nothing..." she answered with... a harmless-looking smile, though he couldn't help but feel that there's something that bothered or angered her somehow.

Before Natsu could ask her or contemplate it further, the sound of a frantic footsteps was heard by Natsu.

He turned around towards the source, and saw a girl with with a wavy blue hair wearing a white tank-top and black shorts with a pair of black shoes and carrying a large, black shoulder bag entering the guild and straight to Mirajane.

"Levy, what brings you here? I thought you were in the hospital with Jet and Droy." Mira said, surprised at the girl's arrival.

The girl named Levy took a breather before she responded, "They're getting better, and it makes their constant request for my assistance rather annoying." she said with an annoyed tone, "But that's not the reason I left the hospital, I need someone to accompany me on a mission."

"Mission?" Mira asked, "As I recall, you were in the hospital to attend to Jet and Droy, you didn't take another job after that problem with Duke Everlue."

"I know that, I was... I was approached by someone yesterday, he said that he was going to put the job description on the guild's board, but since I was there, he mentioned that he needed someone who could translate an ancient script for him, I said I could give it a try, so he gave me a part of it. Here, let me show you..." she said before she searched her bag to find the script.

"Ah, here it is!" she exclaimed as she brought out a small paper containing sets of hieroglyphs, "I've translated some parts of it, it says; _'The Greatest Treasure lies beneath the temples grazed by the sun.'_ this is a part of a riddle, the rest of it is contained within an ancient temple east of Magnolia, just unearthed a few days ago, he wanted me to come to translate the rest, but since Jet and Droy aren't fit for duty yet, I-"

"Let me guess..." Natsu interjected, "You need someone to be your escort." he assumed.

Levy turned to Natsu with an expression that is akin to surprise as she responded with, "...Well... basically, yes... w-who are you?"

Natsu extended his hand to the blue-haired girl, "Natsu Dragneel. Pleased to meet you, Levy McGarden." he said with a smile.

In an instant, her eyes widened, "N-Natsu!" she exclaimed, "Wow...! Y-you're back! Since when!?"

"Since yesterday actually, tell you what..." he began, "Lucy and I were just looking for a job. But seeing that the jobs' on the board has been taken already, we'll go with you, how about it?"

"W-wait a minute, I didn't..." Lucy tried to say something but it was cut off when...

"Really? That's great!" Levy exclaimed out of gratitude, "He offered quite a bit of money for it, and also... I'm interested in solving this riddle, but with Jet and Droy out of commission for awhile..."

"What happened to both of them actually?" Natsu asked.

Levy shuddered as she remembered the event, "...Let's just say that our last mission involved an ugly pervert with a really weird fetish and a couple of well-known mercenaries... thank goodness that Master ordered us to go with Macao-san..."

"Um..." Lucy mouthed out as she raised her hand, "I didn't actually agree to this just yet... I _was _looking for a job, but I need to know more about this mission that you're in."

"...As in?" Levy asked the blonde woman.

"...Not to sound greedy, but... how much money are we talking about?" she asked sheepishly.

"Hm... Two-hundred and fifty thousand Jewels." Levy answered.

"...W-Whoa! That's a lot of money!"

"Oh! And also..." Levy trailed off before she took something from the bag, "This." she said as she showed Lucy a Celestial Golden Key, "Duke Everlue, the... pervert that I told you about, had a celestial spirit aiding him, since the focus of my Magic is Solid Script, this key is not really necessary for me, but if you want it, I-"

"YES YES YES! A thousand times YES!" Lucy yelled out of excitement.

"...O...kay? I'm guessing that you're a Celestial Mage?" the blue haired girl asked.

"Yeah, I'm Lucy, Lucy Heartfilia, nice to meet you!" she said as she shook Levy's hand rather vigorously.

"..Levy McGarden, pleasure to meet you, Lucy-san." said the blue-haired girl, "So... you're coming with me?"

"We will." Natsu confirmed. "Just inform the master that we will accompany you on this job and we'll be good to go whenever you want."

"Great! But, Lucy-san, I'm only going to give you this key after the mission's over, okay?"

Lucy pouted, but she accepted the term nonetheless, "Okay, I understand."

"Well, I'll go see master Makarov then, wait here, okay?"

With that, the girl left to talk with the master, the blonde young woman sitting besides Natsu already began daydreaming about the golden key that she's going to acquire.

But Natsu's attention is focused on the paper that Levy had left in her excitement.

Natsu took it and began to examine it, in his silence, Mirajane asked him; "Natsu, I'm guessing that there's a reason why you want to be her teammate for awhile?"

"...Yes." Natsu answered, "This hieroglyph... I know about its origin." he revealed.

His answer broke Lucy out of her daydream, "...You do...?"

The purple-haired man nodded, "Hm. Which is all the more reason why I want to accompany her, I hope you don't mind being brought along."

"Well, considering the reward... I don't really mind that much... but can I ask why?" asked Lucy.

Natsu turned to her and said; "There's no telling what would happen to her if I don't."

...

* * *

...

To be continued in Fairy Tail: The Ancients' Call Chapter 2.

...

* * *

Done and done! Thank you for reading this chapter.

Now, I want to posit to you a strange question, dear readers. It might be an important plot point for the story, or it might not, and you may ignore this entirely if you want to. So here goes...

What if Zeref and Acnologia were the same person/being?

... :)

I'll let that simmer in your mind for a while...

Badliar 2312, out.


End file.
